A Very Detailed Guide to Beach Waves for Curly, Textured Hair

When you think of beach waves, a curly-headed brown girl is not what comes to mind. The marketing, packaging, and language surrounding this covetable hair style envision its wearer as white, thin, and blonde. There she is, having the time of her life at the ocean somewhere, her hair salted to beach wave perfection. That's not relatable, because the beach—and the products that mimic it—have given me some of the best hair in my entire life.

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My best beach waves came courtesy of Hawaii's North Shore. Though I'm "waaaaay up I feel blessed" to live near some world class beaches in Los Angeles, beach hair via an actual beach is still hard to come by. Luckily, proximity to bodies of salt water is not necessary for achieving waves on swim.

After testing out dozens of products and consulting several experts, I've figured out the quickest and surest way to beach wave perfection for curly, textured hair.

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STEP ONE: Wash your hair...but not too much

Your hair needs to be clean, but not stripped. The minerals in salt spray (the holy grail product for beach waves) can be really drying. Your hair needs to be light enough so that the products can build. The happy medium for curly hair is beginning with a co-wash that moisturizes while it gently cleanses and then layering with a heavier conditioner.

TRY:

Herbal Essence's Naked Cleansing Conditioner. This is my cheap Old Faithful, great for everyday use.

DevaCurl's No Poo Wash. The peppermint oil feels like Listerine for your scalp.

Ouidad's Kinky Curl. I'm not crazy about the name but this product is the iron fist in a velvet glove of hair products: light yet impactful.

STEP TWO: Conditioner

Without great conditioning, the sea salt spray will destroy your hair.

TRY:

Ouidad's Curl Quencher Moisturizing Shampoo. I left it in for five minutes before rinsing and it left my curls SO defined.

Bumble and Bumble's Surf Creme. SO WAVY. Great curl definition as well—especially when I didn't rinse it out completely.

STEP THREE : Leave-In Moisturizer

I can't emphasize enough how important the moisturizing process is for achieving curly beach waves. I recommend putting leave-in moisturizer in your hair when it's soaking wet (like at the beach!) and finger combing it from the scalp, pulling most of the moisturizing product to the middle and ends of the hair. Then add a few drops of light to medium oil in the middle of your head and finger comb that through too. (I like Herbal Essence's Oil Elixir, which smells great, and absorbs well, and sunflower seed oil.)

TRY:

DevaCurl One Conditioner + B'Leave-in Curl Boost and Volumizer. The dream team. Perfect if you have thicker hair. This worked wonders on my hair when I used it as a co-wash. If you have finer hair, use less, at least where your curls are loose. I use it in the back of my hair, where my curls are thicker and tighter. The leave-in is a great volumizer for curls, which will come in handy when the salt spray [next step!] tightens your curls.

Ouidad Leave-In Conditioner + Humidity and Gel: Your fave's fave. The leave-in is great for finer textures, and it smells like clouds, if clouds had a smell. I use this throughout my hair, but especially on the top layers of my curls and around my face, where the strands are finer and the curls are looser. The gel really keeps your hair supple in the face of unrelenting humidity. AUGUST IS COMING.

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STEP FOUR : The Salt Spray

This is the part that gets tricky, because unlike naturally smooth hair follicles, dry hair is truly the kiss of death for curly hair. Salt sprays are probably the most important (and expensive) part of the process, but well worth the due diligence and coins.

TRY:

R+Co Rockaway Salt Spray. Damn Gina. I was blown away by how effective this product was for me. At first my curls were really tight, but after a day or so, the curls relaxed into waves and had great staying power. During application, it started defining my curls immediately. One caveat: if you have lots of hair, as I do, you'll go through this product like whoa. But it gives great volume and definition to fine curls and the beach waves last for days.

Bumble + Bumble Surf Infusion. If you're going for the carefree, California beach wave look with a side of low-key glamour, look no further. The effects are immediate. You also don't need to use half the bottle to get the job done. The spray has a mix of coconut and passion fruit oils to keep your curls from drying out. It worked really well on that hard to address demo: a lot of hair, but not very thick hair. After this product, I didn't need much, not even a finishing spray. Pro-tip: top this spray off with their saltier version, Surf Spray, for you-can't-handle-this-truth waves.

Sachajuan.Hey girl hey. I needed less of this product than the others—that's the blessing and the curse; it lasts longer than the others, but too much can seriously dry out your hair. The effects were very curl-defining and volumizing on wet and dry hair. If you have thick and/or very textured hair, this is definitely your sharp shooter, because of its potency, but be sure so be sure to pair it with more leave-in and styling crème than you might use for the others.

Oribé Après Beach Wave and Shine Spray. It's technically a beach wave spray, but I found it to be the perfect "setting" spray for curls, rather than using it as a stand alone product. The oils in the spray were hydrating, added shine, and helped the products last longer.

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EPILOGUE: When You're Ready to Wash This Shit Out

Another bonus of this fact-finding follicular mission? I finally found a few clarifying shampoos that my curls could rock with, sans strippage. But I understand that clarifying shampoos can get touchy for girls with curls. Joanne "Joey" Gallagher, a Bumble and Bumble educator tells me, "This really depends on how 'thirsty' your natural hair is. Some hair absorbs more product than others." I personally need a clarifying shampoo to get all of the build up out of my scalp and off my strands. If your hair is really dry, a moisturizing shampoo might be better, though I'm still of the camp that every woman needs a good clarifying shampoo.

Finding beach hair products that work for girls with super curls was fun–and empowering. I mean, who doesn't want windswept hair forever?